Activities and Opinions

With so many people unemployed and barely hanging on financially, families are turning to charities in crushing numbers. Organizers of the recent Children's Christmas Party of Jacksonville described a surge in the number of "parents who have never done this before" adding, "it's heartbreaking." Clay County expected so much mayhem during its annual toy give­away that the Sheriff's Office issued a bulletin last week prohibiting overnight camping along S.R. 16 for those trying to lock a spot in line. And an editorial in last week's St. Augustine Record was titled, "Toys need is greater than ever this year."

But in St. Johns County, one home­less organization is actually turning down donations. The Emergency Services Homeless Coalition says it has more than enough presents for the children in its care and has asked at least one local sup­port agency to find another home for the toys it purchased on the coalition's behalf.

Each year, The Homeless Coalition, the county's lead agency for tracking homelessness and providing transitional housing, collects or accepts help from local organizations for its homeless fami­lies. This year, the Coalition needed pres­ents for the 40-some children who live in its cluster of 18 transitional homes. In October, one of those groups, People United to Stop Homelessness (PUSH) picked up a list with the age and gender of each needy child. And for the second year in a row, PUSH purchased a gift for each kid and planned a holiday party to hand them out. But two weeks before the Dec. 14 party, the Coalition called PUSH and said the toys weren't needed, the kids would not be attending the party.

Mary Lawrence, co-founder of PUSH, believes the cancellation is an effort to punish her group because it has been critical of the Homeless Coalition. "I feel that it's retribution, and the kids are the ones that got hurt," Lawrence told Folio Weekly.

PUSH's toys were given to the Our Center in Hastings, but Lawrence says, "There was a lot of switching of genders and ages" in trying to assign appropriate presents.

On Dec. 4, a furious Lawrence fired off a press release to local media and mailed holiday cards to the homeless families originally slated to receive the toys, in which she explained that the Coalition, "would not let us come with our gifts."

Homeless Coalition outreach coordi­nator and board member Jean Hardin calls Lawrence's claim "hooey." She insists there was no retribution, just a surfeit of presents. "Our children get more Santa Claus than the average kid," she said. "We don't need the toys."

Typically, Hardin says, the Coalition seeks donations from Toys for Tots and the Sertoma organization. This year, they informed those groups they had enough stuff. Asked if any other groups were told to redistribute the toys elsewhere, as PUSH was, Hardin became angry. "Frankly, it's none of your business," she said. She suggested Folio Weekly write on a more worthwhile topic, like how the Coalition still desperately needs deter­gents, socks, household products and food. Then she just vented. "I want peo­ple to quit printing crap," she said. "That's just crap to me. That is not news­worthy. To me, this is nothing but a bunch of hooey, just a bunch of hooey."

Regardless of the reasons behind the holiday gift-giving cancellation, there is clearly a growing rift between PUSH and the Coalition. In large part, that's due-to PUSH's very public disparaging of the Coalition's bi-annual homeless count, required by the federal govern­ment for it to qualify for homeless funds. After challenging the accuracy of the Coalition's data — Lawrence even goes so far as to call it "faked" — PUSH conducted its own homeless survey in mid-November. That effort covered more ground and included visits to area homeless camps, but, surprisingly, counted half as many homeless as the Homeless Coalition did in January.

PUSH used its findings to argue that the Coalition's numbers were worthless — a position that isn't exactly disputed by UNF's Northeast Florida Center for Community Initiatives or the United Way of St. Johns County. After PUSH complained about the accuracy of the homeless count, both agencies reviewed the Coalition's statistics and found them wanting. Past counts, though well-intentioned, have been unsystematic and statistically flawed, according to the reviewing agencies.

"The data on the homeless in St. Johns County is not on par with where it needs to be," says United Way of St. Johns County associate executive David Hoak. UNF professor Jeff Will, whose Center for Community Initia­tives trains surveyors for homeless counts and develops survey methodol­ogy, says the Coalition's survey wasn't broad enough to be accurate. When asked why PUSH would come up with half as many homeless when that group had done a more comprehensive count, Hoak is unable to explain. "I don't know," he says. But Hoak emphasizes that the focus should be on improving the survey, and that the Homeless Coalition and PUSH need to work together. "I am uncom­fortable that there is discord between groups of folks who are all trying to do the same thing —• lend a helping hand to homeless folks," he says.

Hoak blames PUSH's in-your-face activism style for some of the discord. "PUSH has been critical of the mayor and the County Commission, critical of a lot of people who have put forth a lot of energy to get elected to public office and to take public service jobs. They seem bent on making sure those people are uncomfortable." Instead of shaking people into action, Hoak says, "I think it steps on toes and alienates people."

--by Susan Eastman, Folio Weekly, originally printed on 12/22/09

JACKSONVILLE AREA CHURCHES COME TOGETHER TO PROVIDE SHELTER TO FAMILIES IN NEED

There are more than 18,000 homeless people in Jacksonville. According to the Emergency Services & Homeless Coalition of Jacksonville, that means that even if all local shelters doubled their number of emergency beds, people would still have to be turned away.

Finding a place to call home poses special problems for homeless families,who face more than just space restrictions. Many also fear that their economic hardship will lead to interference by — or even retribution from — local authorities. Although there arc nearly 160 families in need of transitional housing in Northeast Florida right now, those families try their best to remain invisible.

"You see lots of homeless people downtown and around Jacksonville," says Mark Landschoot, executive director of Family Promise of Jacksonville, a nonprofit, interfaith resource for homeless families. "But you don't sec families. They don't want the authorities to know that their family is in crisis."

The fear among the newly homeless, says Landschoot, is that their children will be taken from them. "They really try to stay out of shelters,$quot; he says. "In some instances, they (the state Department of Children and Families) will take over the custody of the children to protect them, but it's more than the fear of that. I don't know how often that actually happens, but I know there is that perception from people in crisis that, "They are going to take my kids from me."

Landschoot s organization is a network of 14 churches, which works exclusively with homeless families with children. The scenario he typically sees goes something like this: One or both parents lose a job, then they are evicted or foreclosed on. Initially, they use whatever financial resources they have to rent a hotel room or stay at a friend's or family member's house. Eventually, the money or the welcome wears out, and they wind up living in their car. It's only then they start seeking out shelters.

As the economic downturn intensi­fies, requests for help are increasing. The I.M. Sulzbachcr Center for the Homeless, the city's largest shelter, saw a 13 percent jump in families served in fiscal year 2008-'09 over the previous year. All told, they housed 212 families with 450 children. But finding shelter for families can be difficult. Sulzbacher can house families as a unit, but fre­quently has a waiting list for those spots; additionally, families that show up in the middle of the night sleep on the dining room floor. Community Connections accepts families, but one of their campuses won't take boys over 8 years old.

The goal of family Promise is to put otherwise empty facilities to good use. The program works with three families at a time and is based at First United Methodist Church, where families have access to laundry and shower facilities, phone and Internet, as well as individual case management assistance.

Each week, the families move to a new church or synagogue where the congregants provide them with space to sleep and three meals a day. Transportation is provided, as are day care and job search assistance. Because the arrangement uses existing facilities and volunteers, Family Promise officials say the program costs approximately a third less to operate than traditional shelters.

"We have a small case load, so it gives me the opportunity to work one-on-one with them and to be actively involved in their lives,$quot;says Becky Bailey, family support manager. "It takes a lot of work. We try to show them the benefits of the many (social services] programs available to them, so they can accomplish their long-term goals$quot;and avoid falling back into homelessness.

Because the program participants' essential needs are met, they are required to save 75 percent of their income. On average, families stay in the program about four months before being able to move into their own home or apartment. That success rate hasn't dimmed the tide of need. Family Promise has seen a 38 percent increase in requests for service over that of last year.

Kathy Nipper, co-volunteer coordinator for Ortega United Methodist, says the churches have embraced the families. "It is truly many hands. We have everything, washing volunteers, meal volunteers, church-sitting volun­teers. If there is a birthday that week, we have two ladies that make it special, [and we purchase] special presents the mom may request for the children. This program is just amazing. These facilities are just sitting there empty. It gives the family privacy. No one goes in their rooms. They are guests in our church."

Christina Smith recently graduated from the Family Promise program. After having been "put out" by the father of her two children, she went from living with a friend to almost living on the streets. She credits the program with helping her accomplish her goals, including graduating from cos­metology school and getting her current job at Trade Secret. The 26-year-old mother of two toddlers is now also renting-to-own her own trailer.

"I went from nothing to almost everything," she says. "I had nowhere to go. Family Promise was more like a home setting."

The group's reach is still small — as of its third anniversary in June, Family Promise had helped 25 families — but its mission has become an increasingly important part of the social safety net in these lean economic times. Financial contributions are welcomed, as are donations of toiletry items, cleaning supplies and household goods. And congregations of all faiths are encourage* to participate. For more information, go to familypromisejax.org.

--Dolly Penland
originally appeared in the Folio Weekly on 08/25/09